Movie review: Media Malpractice

posted at 8:19 am on February 27, 2009 by Ed Morrissey

The overwhelming sense that one gets on first viewing John Ziegler’s new documentary, Media Malpractice, is deja vu. I’d call it nostalgia, except John doesn’t relive “Happy Days”, but a constant drumbeat of advocacy for Barack Obama on the part of the media. On top of that, John also documents a blistering, biased attack on Sarah Palin that occasionally veered into the pathological, as well as an ancillary attack on Joe Wurzelbacher, who happened to ask Obama the right question at the exact wrong time.

Happily, or perhaps unhappily, I recalled each incident and attack quite clearly, as I had spent most of the last two years documenting them here at Hot Air or at Captain’s Quarters before that. In that sense, it’s difficult to predict how many eyes Media Malpractice will open. At its premiere last night, the audience comprised mostly conservative activists and writers, the very people who could have quoted chapter and verse from the media Obama hymnal. The compilation of so much material into the span of this documentary may prove very shocking to the people who paid less attention, or who took media reports at face value during the campaign.

John has made this an entertaining trip into the heart of Obama as media creation. It runs a little long for a documentary, and starts off less organized thematically than it ends, with a strong, organized finish — but that may be from the very nature of the widespread effort by the media to run interference for Obama. Skeptics will find openings for criticism, as John casts a wide net; for instance, Palin herself notes that commentators have a place in news media while John focuses heavily on pundits like Chris Matthews and Campbell Brown for criticism. John also uses Saturday Night Live events for both support and criticism, which weakens his argument slightly regarding NBC.

No matter. The sheer weight of the evidence John expertly documents, and the clever and telling juxtaposition of the widely varying treatment Obama and Joe Biden received from the media from Palin will have even the skeptics admitting that John has a point. In fact, John saves his best evidence for last, in two widely-remarked polls showing and confirming that Obama voters were significantly less knowledgeable about politics and the specifics of the election. That is John’s entire point; the media served the nation poorly in one of its most important functions and left an electorate drowning in ignorance. John claims that he bears no ill will towards Barack Obama and hopes he succeeds, but that the media failed — utterly.

The most affecting moments of this documentary come when John shows Palin watching the specific clips he documents in this film, some of them the first time Palin had seen them. When the topic runs to Bristol, Trig, and maternity, Palin is unable to hide her pain, at least momentarily. John has also included in the DVD the entire unedited interview with Sarah Palin, which we did not have time to watch last night.

John told me last night that he will hold showings of the movie in selected cities over the next few weeks. Keep an eye on John’s website for more details, or better yet, buy your own copy now.

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the media served the nation poorly in one of its most important functions and left an electorate drowning in ignorance. John claims that he bears no ill will towards Barack Obama and hopes he succeeds, but that the media failed — utterly.

This is the point and the danger. The media has given up its Constitutional mandate to act as watch dog over power. They are now will accomplices to whatever the Obamulan Empire perpetrates.

Did it mention what is to me a very damning fact, that John Edwards went from being the front-runner for Obama’s VP pick to vapor in a matter of a week.

John Edwards was erased from the memory banks of history to protect the messiah.

Same with Blago and Burris.

You democrats in the media had better hope to God you don’t get on Obama’s bad side, because history shows that left wing hardliners begin by expunging history, but end up expunging the actual human beings.

Those [email protected] The only thing that will be remotely effective is to hit them in their pocketbook. Boycott their networks in general and let their advertisers know you won’t be supporting them. It may take years of cumulative effort, but in this economy, I would THINK that boycotts might get some attention. My husband works for a major American product, and orders have been slashed drastically in the last six months, and they are taking customer feedback VERY seriously.

Eh, Ziegler probably has a tax lien against him….and have you seen his hairstyle? How can we take him seriously when he wears such unstylish clothing? Do we know that “John” is his real first name and not actually his middle name? Is he licensed to do what he does? What about his wife, are they happily married or does he smack her around?

I say we ignore Ziegler and everything he says until those questions are answered in full, and then we should still ignore and ridicule him.

It’s inherent in the First Amendment. The Powerline guys have cited the case law on this. This is why the Bush administration was reluctant to go after leakers in the NYT. The “press” is singled out for protection so that it can act as watchdog over government without fear of retribution.

Those [email protected] The only thing that will be remotely effective is to hit them in their pocketbook. Boycott their networks in general and let their advertisers know you won’t be supporting them. It may take years of cumulative effort, but in this economy, I would THINK that boycotts might get some attention. My husband works for a major American product, and orders have been slashed drastically in the last six months, and they are taking customer feedback VERY seriously.

anniekc on February 27, 2009 at 8:41 AM

Sadly that wont work. Just look at newspapers like the NYSlimes and the LyingAlways Times and see how their subscription rates have fallen over the last few years. Nothing gets through to those zombie ghouls.

Part of me smirks at the bankruptcies of a number of liberal newspapers, but another part of me worries about the loss of our newspapers.

A concern I have about people under, say, 40, is that too many have attention spans of gnats. Newspapers, which provide a hardcopy that requires reading and analysis, are being replaced almost entirely by short TV spots, sketchy blog rants (no slight intended for HA), and newsblasts on cellphones. I think Ziegler’s right that too many are informed solely by comedian monologues, SNL, Jon Stewart, and the Colbert Report.

It’ll be interesting to see what happens when there’s no one around to change our diapers and warm our bottles.

They’re still at it, too. Did anyone see or hear Matt Lauer’s “interview” of Rick Santelli this week? They’re part of the same network, yet Lauer was in full Messiah-protection mode. Completely disgusting. And how about the total media silence on Joe Biden’s disastrous “I don’t know the name of the website” appearance on CBS last Wednesday? This guy is a total assclown, yet we’re still supposed to believe that Sarah Palin was the ignoramus in the campaign.

Everyone who sees this and gives it credibility is merely confirming what they already think. Even those who are having buyers remorse for voting for the One won’t admit that they’ve been swayed by this. Its interesting but not persuasive enough to have much impact.

One last think to the trolls if you are so inclined you may want to watch the Palin interview it is the real Palin.
But I am not going to hold my breath you trolls would give Gov. Palin a chance and that is a shame.

Everyone who sees this and gives it credibility is merely confirming what they already think. Even those who are having buyers remorse for voting for the One won’t admit that they’ve been swayed by this. Its interesting but not persuasive enough to have much impact.

genso on February 27, 2009 at 8:55 AM

God striking those imbeciles with a lightning bolt from heaven and using it to sign his name to the act wouldn’t be persuasive enough or proof enough for them.

I wonder if it is just my imagination, or have the polls about “Is the country heading in the right direction?” suddenly stopped?

I mean, isn’t it kind of counter-intuitive that during 2006, ’07, and ’08 it seemed like every couple of weeks we were told that x% of Americans thought the country was going to hell in a handbasket (with x always kept getting bigger) but now, when average Americans are throwing teaparties to complain that… well, that the country is going to hell in a handbasket, all those polls seem to have vanished?

It’s almost like the polls and the media reporting of them were trying to pull our perceptions of our well-being one way before, and the opposite way now! Has there been any major political change recently that could account for that?

Exactly. We have a literal divide in social, cultural and political values in this country. Its been building for decades and is now at a tipping point. Or, for the pessimist, maybe we are past that point already.

They’re still at it, too. Did anyone see or hear Matt Lauer’s “interview” of Rick Santelli this week? They’re part of the same network, yet Lauer was in full Messiah-protection mode. Completely disgusting. And how about the total media silence on Joe Biden’s disastrous “I don’t know the name of the website” appearance on CBS last Wednesday? This guy is a total assclown, yet we’re still supposed to believe that Sarah Palin was the ignoramus in the campaign.

rockmom on February 27, 2009 at 8:51 AM

The part that amazes me about that interview and I wish Santelli had come back with against Lauer was to reverse the situation. Imagine the uproar if Tony Snow or Dana Perino had called out Matt Lauer personally during a press briefing, wondering where he lived. The media would have gone wild for weeks talking about intimidation from the White House. Bottom line, this White House is calling out private citizens such as Rush Limbaugh and Rick Santelli, by name, in an effort to silence them. If the MSM had any balls, they’d be screaming to protect all Americans from these types of tactics.

It’s almost like the polls and the media reporting of them were trying to pull our perceptions of our well-being one way before, and the opposite way now! Has there been any major political change recently that could account for that?

drunyan8315 on February 27, 2009 at 9:02 AM

Its just not “on message” for the media to report it. But, it is okay for the One to scare everyone into submission. Those that are complaining about the direction he has taken will be marginalized. Take note of the lack of coverage of these tea parties. If mentioned at all, it will be in the light of wingnutty conservatives who are on the fringe. The low turnout at these events will support that.

It’s almost like the polls and the media reporting of them were trying to pull our perceptions of our well-being one way before, and the opposite way now! Has there been any major political change recently that could account for that?

drunyan8315 on February 27, 2009 at 9:02 AM

Are you asking this seriously or just being sarcastic?
The media has dome nothing but create an alternate reality to suit their leftist agenda.

I have one piece of advice for Palin.
When a unknown runs for national office, she’d better be like Caeser’s wife.Above reproach.
Palin is an ex-beauty pageant contestant that still speaks in Heartland Pageant Speak. Her children are (the ones that are old enough) highschool dropouts and unwed parents. She was deeply and profoundly unprepared to speak on a wide range of topics including the economy and foreign policy. She became a national punchline….not because of a media vendetta….but because she was a total joke candidate.
Lets be honest Ed.
If Palin looked like Janet Reno she’d still be a fishgutter and a hockey mom.

The press had a mandate to report the facts, it’s assumed from the term “news”. “All the news fit to print”, for example. The freedom of the press is assured so that the “news” can be printed and accessed by the citizenry.

She became a national punchline….not because of a media vendetta….but because she was a total joke candidate.
Lets be honest Ed.
If Palin looked like Janet Reno she’d still be a fishgutter and a hockey mom.

strangelet on February 27, 2009 at 9:23 AM

One would have to be completely blinded by partisanship, ignorant or totally devoid of any critical thinking abilities not to recognize the massive, concerted, over-the-top, viscous, dishonest, hateful, bigoted attack that the left, the democrats and the MSM launched on Palin as soon as she was nominated. I doubt we have aver seen anything like this before on our county. They felt terribly threatened by her and and focused on an all out assault for her total destruction.

Lets be honest Ed.
If Palin looked like Janet Reno she’d still be a fishgutter and a hockey mom.

strangelet on February 27, 2009 at 9:23 AM

Dude, the point is that she still is a fishgutter and a hockey mom and she’s damned proud of it! If she were so very awful, why would the press have to bring in their big guns and their elite troops to demolish her? Why couldn’t they treat all the candidates even handedly and let the chips fall where they may? If you hate Palin, just substitute any other candidate you really, really, really like, envision all the garbage they dumped on her that had absolutely nothing to do with her interviews being done to your candidate, and then tell me it didn’t really happen, it doesn’t really matter.

This may be a minority position but what galls me the most about ‘media misrepresentation’ is not that liberal-dominated nerve centers, journalists, and pundits fell in love with Obama and dedicated themselves to savage anything standing in the way of getting Obama elected, including savaging a Governor from Alaska who prior to August 29, 2008 was rated very positively by several liberal news sources due to being an energy expert and a young up-and-coming attractive female governor. (Maria Bartiromo interviewed SP only one week before she was named a VP candidate and found her charming and intelligent.)

But what does gall me is that so-called Republican journalists, media, and pundits did not have the intellectual honesty to call out the media for media malpractice, especially in regards with how they treated Sarah Palin, misrepresnted her views, and smeared her.

Tell me when the last time the MSM admitted in regards to Sarah Palin’s political positions, ideas, or persona that:

1)SP never said “I can see Russia from my house” (Tina Fey said it)

2)SP believes in the use of contraception to prevent pregnancy

3)SP believes in the teaching of evolution in public schools

4)SP had a higher security clearance than other governors because of the presence of silos in Alaska

5)SP stood toe-to-toe with Joe Biden when discussing foreign affairs (even the most clueless nincompoop journalist should have admitted at least that SP understood foreign issues, even though it may have been superficial. They wouldn’t even admit that. It continued the theme that SP had no knowledge of foreign affairs even though millions and millions watched her debate with Biden and saw otherwise. Folks that is called chutzpah.

6)SP helped the McCain campaign immensely and prevented Mccain from getting wiped out a la Mondale or Dukakais

7)SP performed well in her solo appearance on SNL

8)That SP has a photographic memory and can absorb new information very quickly

9)That SP is a ‘natural’ as Michael Barone put it in being able to deliver a knock-it-out-of-the-park convention speech in front of thousands at the convention and 37m on
TV without any ‘training camp’ or much time to prepare for it.

10)That SP gave several interviews during the campaign after her subpar performance with Couric and performed well.

Now I don’t expect the MSM to ever come clean but as for so-called GOP journalists or observers, the gross in justice is that they sat on the sidelines not saying or writing anything to dispute these facts, as if they were in cahoots with Obama.

To me this is where ‘media malpractice’ cut the deepest and perhaps one of the primary reasons why Obama got 20% of the conservative (self-proclaimed) vote in the election.

Peggy Noonan, Kathleen Parker, David Brooks, David Frum, Christopher Buckley where is your intellectual honesty and why did you not attempt to expose the truth?

True… But the one absolute long term good that this film will provide is a concise clear record, in full color video, of how the election was handed by the media to the least qualified candidate ever to run…
–
When our children and grandchildren ask us what happened to America… this will be a good start at the answer.

As far as the Constitution goes the “press” is granted tremendous power and protection. It is virtually a co-equal branch of government which is why it gets away with what it gets away with. Sorry, but it’s true and it galls me no end. When the “press” beats its chest about how “brave and courageous” it is, it’s all BS. They know full well that they are protected by the Constitution.

By being in the tank for Obama the people are left without an advocate in government who should be reporting the truth.

And when you watch SP talk about ‘crisis number 5’ at the end of the above clip does Sarah Palin come off as a complete moron or a savvy politician that is scoring mega-points like a boxer who stalking his opponent.

And this is an example where the ‘conservative media’ fell down: not backing Sarah Palin in exposing Joe Biden for the nincompoop that he really is.

I think Santelli was too stunned by Matt Lauer’s to-the-mattresses defense of Robert Gibbs to respond the way he should have. For a major network news journalist to defend a White House mouthpiece against a fellow journalist from his own network, was so astonishing that I still can’t believe it actually happened.

True… But the one absolute long term good that this film will provide is a concise clear record, in full color video, of how the election was handed by the media to the least qualified candidate ever to run…
–
When our children and grandchildren ask us what happened to America… this will be a good start at the answer.

RalphyBoy on February 27, 2009 at 10:05 AM

That’s it!! I’m buying the damn video. You’ve just provided the single most important reason this new ‘Grammy’ needs to justify spending the money right now. Thank you.

Happily, or perhaps unhappily, I recalled each incident and attack quite clearly, as I had spent most of the last two years documenting them here at Hot Air or at Captain’s Quarters before that. In that sense, it’s difficult to predict how many eyes Media Malpractice will open.

True, Media Malpractice will open few eyes. Then again, I recall a passionate argument I had with my then colleague, now wife, about the “liberal” media 15 years ago. She refused to acknowledge any media bias and has come to change her mind. The point is not to open eyes so much as challenge assumptions.

Looks like the dead tree editions of free speech lose money giving away their opinions. More papers are broke..Oh well, you get what you pay for and reading the online news from the papers still means the news is over priced.

I have one piece of advice for Palin.
When a unknown runs for national office, she’d better be like Caeser’s wife.Above reproach.

strangelet on February 27, 2009 at 9:23 AM

I guess reproach exlcudes sitting down for dinner with unrepentant domestic terrorists and muderers, keeping company with convicted real-estate con men and MOB bagmen, not explaining how voting “present” provides representation of the citizens who elected him. Him, of course, is Obama.

Unknown? Maybe we should check, but I concede the election ballot in Alaska may in fact have listed “Unknown” for Governor instead of “Palin”.

anyone think that possibly part of the MSM for Obama stuff has to do with they know they are going bankrupt in coming years and need a Govt. Bailout to survive. a bailout a GOP president is less likely to give them?

have one piece of advice for Palin.
When a unknown runs for national office, she’d better be like Caeser’s wife.
Above reproach.
Palin is an ex-beauty pageant contestant that still speaks in Heartland Pageant Speak. Her children are (the ones that are old enough) highschool dropouts and unwed parents. She was deeply and profoundly unprepared to speak on a wide range of topics including the economy and foreign policy. She became a national punchline….not because of a media vendetta….but because she was a total joke candidate.
Lets be honest Ed.
If Palin looked like Janet Reno she’d still be a fishgutter and a hockey mom.

strangelet on February 27, 2009 at 9:23 AM

Proof that this documentary is right on.
1. She was not an “unkown”. If the media had done their job they would have known she was on McCain’s list and done their homework.
2. You neglect to mention that she is the Governor of Alaska (and a pretty popular one at that) and not just an ex beauty queen and hockey mom.
3. None of her children are dropouts.

Either you are making these things up, or you let the MSM do your homework for you.

If Palin looked like Janet Reno she’d still be a fishgutter and a hockey mom.

strangelet on February 27, 2009 at 9:23 AM

Of course. Because beauty queens get elected governors everyday right? I forget, which beauty competitions did Claire “Hungry Hungry Hippo” McCaskill win to get elected? It seems to me it is harder for beautiful women to be taken seriously and get elected.

Technopeasant, you rock!! Excellent points made today! So glad that there are people like you who see through all this MSM bs.

The MSM trashed Sarah’s reputation and accomplishments from Day 1 so that voters would not have a chance to learn the truth about Sarah. If you recall, Sarah’s bio film was not played at the RNC convention (Hurricane Gustav cut the RNC convention short) and the McCain campaign kept Sarah sequestered so most of the public had to rely on the MSM to learn who Sarah was.

Those conservatives and republicans who did not speak up for Sarah when she was under relentless assault by the MSM have been put on notice. Most of the MSM are Obama’s protectors/enforcers and they will seek to destroy any threat including Jindal, Romney, Santelli, Limbaugh, etc.

Look at how the MSM has been engaged in mocking and marginalizing Jindal after his response speech. He is now identified with Kenneth the Page at 30 Rock, Mr. Rogers, Howdy Doody, etc. in the minds of many voters. Jindal is a Rhodes scholar and very accomplished governor but that is not important when the MSM is twisting the facts. See, anyone can be caricatured as an “idiot” or “buffoon” by the MSM, whether you went to an elite university or not (which was one of the knocks used against Sarah).

This documentary is important because we need to understand how the MSM’s lies, smears and outright propaganda are used to crush conservatives and republicans (or anyone that opposes the MSM agenda) so that we can fight against it effectively.

And to this day not one of these fifth columnists has stood up and said that it was a stroke of genius and politically adept that Sarah Palin exposed the mediocrity and buffonery of Joe Biden and the vulnerability of Barack Obama in the same breath.

And not one sided with Sarah when she tried to warn America about Obama’s radical associations and his socialistic, spreading the wealth beliefs.

Of course this is all true, but it misses the point. Western culture has become besotted with “media” for most of my lifetime, and it’s been at least 30 years since anybody has even noticed that fact. Arguments about “good TV” versus “bad TV” are the perfect reductio ad absurdem.

That ANYbody, at ANY time, believes ANYthing that is presented on television is simply pathetic, and should be grounds for total skepticism in re that person’s judgment. Even having discussions like this one is so Orwellian as to beggar belief.

In, of course, my opinion, every time you turn on a TV set, there’s some guy smiling in your face like Don Pardo and intoning “HI, STUPID!” What do we expect?

A reality painted by the MSM with shadows on the wall for cave dwellers. Plato was both cautionary and prophetic in his writing “The Allegory of the Cave.” And why did he write it? Because he became disillusioned by politics and the slanted information being delivered to the people. There is not a single person in the MSM that can argue the logic and rationale of how reality can be painted by the information they report and MOST importantly the information they don’t.

Ok, I do agree with the fact that the MSM stinks. But.. there is one point I want to comment on that was brought out.
The MSM is operated for a profit, not for any altruistic reason. Papers are owned by corporations who are run by people with definite political agendas. We hope that the media would remain objective so as to provide a needed public service, but under a free market world, it’s objective is to make a profit. Right? Think the old adage, “sex sells”.

That being said, when the public starts to perceive that the newspaper, tv channel is Not objective, ie when credibility is lost, then they turn their consumer back on said businesses and they suffer losses. Hmmm. just as we are seeing.

So there is a constant struggle between being “perceived” as fair and balance and truly “being” fair and balanced. Currently the MSM has tipped the scales so far to the left that the public is starting to notice and react in the traditional market way – ratings drop, circulation drop etc.

If we didnt have Obambi, we would start to see a turn in attitude of the press, to reestablish some semblance of credibility. Since we do have The One, we are going to see state run media within the next two years.

Generally the MSM would go after Obambi because scandal sells very well. His past is laden with the potential for some really lurid headlines. They didn’t because they bought into their own liberal propaganda education forgetting the main objective of their business – to sell papers/stories.

Sure the first black president sold alot of copies, but the backlash is starting to be felt. Luck for them that Obambi’s goal is nationalize the press.

Me too. I don’t trust anything that’s reported anymore. There are no experts, it is all opinion and they don’t really know anything. The talking heads are called “talent” and are groomed from colleges to look good and speak well while reading from a teleprompter. They just read, but don’t really know what it all means. Kinda like our president. Can anyone prove to me that this guy, who spent less than two years actually in the Senate, has deep knowledge on any of the programs in the trillion dollar spendulus? I watch him talk and that’s all it is. I don’t believe he has depth on any subject except what the perfect font size is for his teleprompter.

sigh
Bristol Palin is still unmarried and did drop out of high school, and Track Van Palin dropped out of high school and took his GED before deploying for Iraq.
You miss my point.
This is the salacious kind of stuff the media loves to dish on.

Lets accept the premise that Zeigler makes, the media is biased.
What are you going to do about it?
Can you force them to more fair?
Can you shame them into being more fair?
Can you persuade them to be more fair?
I think all those are fails.
Conservatives scorn academia and intellectuals, and ceded the elite university domain to liberals long ago.
And that is where journalists and media representatitves come from.

oops, my bad, Track dropped out, played hockey in MI, and then came back to Wasalia and graduated. So he did drop out.
But my point still is scandal is the breath of life for the media.
And a savy campaign would not have been surprised by the treatment of
Palin et famille.

–
Not really the point of the movie. Biased is the point. Obama got a pass on most real scandal wood, and Palin got poor treatment on everything, as did Hillary once the Mess-I-ah became the presses blessed One.

oops, my bad, Track dropped out, played hockey in MI, and then came back to Wasalia and graduated. So he did drop out.
But my point still is scandal is the breath of life for the media.
And a savy campaign would not have been surprised by the treatment of
Palin et famille.

strangelet on February 27, 2009 at 2:27 PM

???

I read the Enquirer link you posted- unless I missed it, even they didn’t say he dropped out. Allegations of drug use, etc., which is par for the course in Enquirer stories.

Let’s ask this a different way- Do you have any credible sources for your allegation that Track is a dropout?

I hope Ziegler comes to my area, cuz I’d definately be there. We just had Medved and Newt, so I’m hopin’…

This movie also illustrates why Debra Saunders article the other day is so laughable. Like we’re really gonna miss the SF Chron LOL! If only we could also miss the NY Times, the LA Times, Couric, PMSNBC, etc…

Lets accept the premise that Zeigler makes, the media is biased.
What are you going to do about it?
Can you force them to more fair?
Can you shame them into being more fair?
Can you persuade them to be more fair?
I think all those are fails.
Conservatives scorn academia and intellectuals, and ceded the elite university domain to liberals long ago.
And that is where journalists and media representatitves come from.

Anyways, you have your own media outlet….the Happy Meal Media.
Rush will tell you what you want to hear.

strangelet on February 27, 2009 at 12:35 PM

What can we do about the biased MSM? Not patronize it. A lot of people are apparently doing that, for various reasons, not always ideological. But Limbaugh’s still doing pretty well.

By the way, if there is something that Limbaugh says that is factually incorrect, feel free to point that out. I don’t hear very many Rush-bashers who will do that. It’s always some ad hominem about his past drug addiction or whatever.

Despite snowballing reports and rumors, Sarah Palin’s eldest son, Track, was not part of the gang of four teenagers who criminally vandalized 44 Alaska school buses in 2005, a key culprit told The News.

“Track wasn’t with me. Track had nothing to do with it,” participant Deryck Harris, 20, said Wednesday in an exclusive interview.